David was also a close friend of Jonathan, son of king Saul. Many people, myself included, interpret David and Jonathan's relationship to have been romantic. I'm a starry-eyed one in the first place. Beloved, thy name is David. ;)

Maybe you should study the Bible. David and Jonathan's relationship was NOT ROMANTIC. They loved each other like brothers, not as gays! In the Bible God completely destroyed the city of Sodom and Gomorrah for such as you have insinuated therefore why would God allow two of his most beloved sons (Jonathan and David) the same iniquity for which He (God) judged that iniquity? :)

I'll leave you to draw your own conclusions. The Bible is up for multiple interpretations; David and Jonathan's story has clear amourous overtones, at least in the eyes of a strong minority.

― Anonymous User 10/8/2005

Gaelruadh19, David and Jonathan were like brothers, not lovers. When David was saying how Jonathan's love was better than that of women, he mean the brotherly love between them was better than a romantic love he'd find with women. The Bible is very clear that homosexuality is an abomination to God. It's not up to interpretation. As for Sodom and Gomorrah, they don't say exactly what was going on there. All it says is that the people there partook in abominations before God. Lots of things are called abominations to God, but it is evident that homosexuality was one of those abominations. When the two (I think it was two, if I remember correctly) angels were in Lot's home, a bunch of men were begging for Lot to hand over them so that they could... um... do things to them.

As for Ruth and Naomi, you really think they had a romantic thing going on? Naomi was Ruth's mother-in-law for goodness' sake. Bible accounts aren't up for people to make their own fan-fictitious versions of them. Just thought I'd get that straight.

First of all... "Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had arrogance, abundant food, and careless ease, but she did not help the poor and needy. Thus they were haughty and committed abominations before Me. Therefore I removed them when I saw it." Ezekiel 16:49-50

See any homosexuality in there? Me neither. Unless you want to claim that the vague umbrella term, "abominations," used for everything from eating shellfish to planting two different crops in the same field, was meant to specifically reference homosexuality. Which would be a little strange.

If the curious reader wants to learn more about different ideas about Christianity and homosexuality, I strongly recommend the book, "What Christians Think About Homosexuality: Six Representative Viewpoints."

As for the name, it's lovely. Both David and Jonathan easily beat out their Sapphic counterparts, Ruth and Naomi, in terms of nice-nameitude. But let's not get into that one.

― Anonymous User 9/12/2006

Just for the record, the Bible is not up for many interpretations. It was never intended for that use. Truth is truth, and it is just our job to understand what it is. I love the name David because it means the same as mine, "Beloved". David's name was this because he was called the beloved of God's because he was after God's own heart. He wasn't perfect, but he sought after God. If you doubt this, look at some of the Psalms that he wrote.

― Anonymous User 1/22/2006

I love, love, love this name! It goes very well as a middle name, espically in the south, such as in John David, or William David.

The name David is wonderful and timeless. Davids are always down to earth and fun guys. I do dislike the nickname Dave, plain and boring. Davey is alright but David is too good of a name to call one anything else.

― Anonymous User 3/14/2006

Famous bearer is David Lloyd George, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922.

― Anonymous User 3/26/2006

Oh my gosh! What about David James Elliott from JAG? :D He has one of the greatest smiles ever...*sigh* ;)

Famous bearer: David Tennant (born David McDonald, 18th April 1971), actor, most famously known for playing the Tenth Doctor in the television series 'Doctor Who' and Barty Crouch Junior in the film 'Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire'.

I think the name is okay if pronounced in the English language, but in German, it sounds absolutely horrible.

― Anonymous User 10/25/2006

I like this name. It's clean and strong.

― Anonymous User 11/4/2006

David Ricardo (April 18, 1772 – September 11, 1823), a political economist, is often credited with systematising economics, and was one of the most influential of the classical economists, along with Thomas Malthus, and Adam Smith. He was also a businessman, financier and speculator, and amassed a considerable fortune.

Sir David Lean, KBE (March 25, 1908 – April 16, 1991) was an English film director and producer, best remembered for big-screen epics such as Lawrence of Arabia, The Bridge on the River Kwai, and Doctor Zhivago . He was voted 9th best director of all time in the BFI "Directors Top Directors" poll 2002. In the 1990's a cinema was built in Croydon, Greater London to honour the great director. The David Lean cinema can be found situated within the Croydon Clocktower on Katherine street.

David Hume (April 26, 1711 – August 25, 1776) was a Scottish philosopher, economist, and historian. He is one of the most important figures of the history of Western philosophy and of the Scottish Enlightenment. Although in recent years interest in Hume's works has centred on his philosophical writing, it was as a historian that he gained his initial fame and his History of Great Britain was the standard work on English history for sixty or seventy years until superseded by the History of England by T. B. Macaulay.

Name is cute. But I don't usually find it hard to call people with this name the nickname "Dave". I know, it's strange.

― Anonymous User 2/11/2007

David James Matthews is the lead singer of the Dave Matthews Band. His band brings in more money for live shows than any other rock band out there right now. He has been around since the early 1990's and is still going strong.

― Anonymous User 2/14/2007

I love this name! I first heard it in David Copperfield and fell absolutley in love with it. I also like the nicknames Dave and Davy/Davey. I don't really like the way it is pronounced in Holland and Germany. It sounds strong and cool in English but in Dutch it sounds kinda dull.

I didn't really like this name much before, but due to its grand history and heritage, I've grown to like it. Oh and anyway, those that posted that David and Jonathan 'loved each other' in a romantic way have really got it all wrong. They loved each other in a BROTHERLY way. This was a pure God-given love, not some impossible romance in an odd Greek myth (now those myths are famous for that as I learned just fifteen minutes ago, wow isn't time neat?). I won't argue on this I've made a point and typed a comment and that is enough, I rest my case there with saying that this name has a strong meaning.

David was a man after God's own heart in the Bible. He also wrote the well known book of "Pslams" in the Bible.

― Anonymous User 8/22/2007

My mother told my brother (his name is David) and me that the name David means "king" in Latin.

― Anonymous User 8/29/2007

Somebody's mother is misinformed. David does not mean anything in Latin. David is a Hebrew word. Latin is an Indo-European language, not a Semitic one. David appears in the Latin translation of Jewish and Christian texts, just as Chaka probably does in the Finnish translation of Zulu texts, but this does not make Chaka a Finnish name or David a Latin one. The Latin for "king" is rex, which gives us words like regal, royal and the male name Rex ... which the ancient Romans never used as a name, in part because of their passionate hatred of kings and kingship.

I used to think that the Dutch pronunciation of this name was kind of dull (I'm Dutch) but I've grown to like it and now I love it as much as, if not more than, the English pronunciation. What I like about the Dutch one is that there are no icky nicknames for it so people will have to call a David by his real name. If I ever have a son this will absolutely be his name. It's such a beautiful name with a great meaning.

I was given the name David which was fine but I changed years ago to call myself Dave. I like Dave because it's a friendly, informal name.

― Anonymous User 2/12/2008

David is a major character in the Uglies Trilogy by Scott Westerfeld. He a teenaged boy, and the leader of the rebel group known as the Smoke (and later the New Smoke, after the first was destroyed) who used to lead willing "uglies" to the Smoke. He was also the protagonist Tally's boyfriend.

A famous bearer is American actor David Hyde Pierce (born April 3, 1959). He is well-known for his role as Dr. Niles Crane, the lead character's brother, on the popular television sitcom "Frasier" for its entire eleven-season run. Pierce received, among other things, 4 Emmy Awards for Best Supporting Actor in 1995, 1998, 1999, and 2004, and 2 SAG Awards, 1 for himself in 1996, and 1 for the entire "Frasier" cast in 1999. In 2007, he also won a Tony Award for his role in the Broadway musical "Curtains".

A famous bearer was David Llewelyn Wark Griffith (January 22, 1875 – July 23, 1948), better known as D. W. Griffith. He was an early American silent film director, well-known for his controversial blockbusters 'The Birth of a Nation' (1915) and 'Intolerance' (1916). He received a lifetime achievement Academy Honorary Award in 1936.

I like this name. I like that it's Biblical, and I like the way it sounds. It sounds like it could fit anybody (excluding girls and women, of course). And I like the nicknames of Dave and Davey that you can get from it. When I hear it I think of David Bowie, David Gilmour, David Copperfield, King David in the Bible, and a friend of mine named David, who sings in the band I'm in. These are all very positive connotations. All and all, this is a nice name.

Bah, it's so overused, but I harbor no great dislike towards the name. It's a very safe choice at least, one that sounds okay on many different guys, even the fat and ugly ones, isn't immature, tacky, trashy, or of any other bad type that could lead to discrimination. But this must be one of the most common names for unwanted children ever. Doesn't take much effort to come up with this one!

David Duke is a loonie. He's a pretty good reason not to use the name, for me anyway. There are plenty of Davids out there, of course, but I just wouldn't want my son to share his name with anyone that repulsive.

David is definitely an enduring name. There are certainly a lot of people with the name, as demonstrated by the number of famous people with it. I do like it a lot, but I'm not sure I'd name my kids that because it's fairly common, and I know that I don't like to meet other people with the same name as me, which might happen pretty often with a name like David.

David Herald (1842-1865) was a conspirator in the assassination plots on President Abraham Lincoln, Vice President Andrew Johnson, and Secretary of State William Seward. He was found guilty for conspiring with John Wilkes Booth and hanged with three other conspirators on July 7, 1865.

There's also Azerbaijani and Turkish forms of DAVID. They're spelled as DAVUD and DAVUT respectively.

― Anonymous User 5/30/2009

I know very few Davids, but this name is a strong name to me. Solid. The few Davids I know are strong and reliable, if not always the most tactful of people. He is always there for you and although he doesn't always understand your problems exactly he always tries to help. Often a loyal person. That is the impression from the Davids I do know, and they're often strong friends. The nickname "Dave" doesn't appeal to me in the same way. It seems to hold a different meaning.

David Fisher was one of the lead characters on the HBO show Six Feet Under, played by Emmy-nominated actor Michael C. Hall. He was an uptight but sensitive funeral director, and a closeted homosexual. Very funny character!

― Anonymous User 6/22/2009

I don't like this name. It's so overused, and I knew a lot of Davids who were jerks. Plus, it has too many annoying namesakes, like David Duke, David Cook, David Archuleta, David Duchovny, and Dave Ramsey.

A famous bearer is American actor David Denman (born July 25, 1973). He is well-known for his roles in films like "Out Cold" and "Big Fish" and TV roles as Skip in "Angel", and Roy in the American version of "The Office".

David Alasdair Boudia (born 1989 in Abilene, Texas) is an American diver and Olympic gold medalist.

― Anonymous User 8/12/2012

David William Duchovny (born 1960 in New York City) is an American actor, writer, and director.

― Anonymous User 8/12/2012

This name is really overused. It is so boring after hearing it on every other guy. It also reminds me of that annoying actor David Wenham (aka Faramir from the LOTR movies) and that singer David Archuleta, both of whom I can't stand.

My husband's name is David. I love the name and he says he likes it, but there were always at least 2 other David's in his grade throughout school, as it was a top 10 name the year he was born. He absolutely hates being called Dave, and I have to say I can't blame him. Dave sounds a little too middle aged and takes away the strength and class of David. Despite the popularity it's still an awesome name and has always been one of my favorites. A little boy named David today would probably stick out from all the jaydens, braydens, and kaydens, rather than the other way around as it would've been twenty years ago. I have yet to meet a David who wasn't completely adorable and super sweet :)

I can picture a gentle, caring yet strong young man hearing this name. To me it's one of those classics that will never go out of style. My favourite biblical name by far! The nicknames Dave or Davy are crap, though.

Would be interested to know the original Hebrew pronunciation, as the vav of Modern Hebrew was once pronounced "w", and as the Arabic form of this name is still pronounced Dawud. The related modern Hebrew word for "beloved" is pronounced "Dodi".

To those speculating about a homoerotic relationship between David and Jonathan, let me clarify. In the context of Hebraic culture, your romantic, physical, sexual feelings were reserved for your wife. But your truly deep, sacrificial, compassionate kind of love you reserved for the dearest of friends. Thus what we see between David and Jonathan is not a romantic or sexual love, but a sacrificing, selfless, die-together kind of love, beyond the feelings you'd have for a wife or sexual partner, hence the expression "passing the love of women". Which does not mean "you love me the way you would otherwise be loving your wife", but means "you love me more than any imaginable bond of the senses or flesh could inspire".

My brother's name is David Martin, and I like the way he handles the name David. I think he got his religious personality in the name David, he is also tough, brave enough and somewhat shy even though I can call him manly David.

I call him 'Bebed' because I couldn't pronounce his name when I was 1 year old and as I grew up, 'Bebed' is the name I used to call him. Some friends of ours call him Burik, Davide, and simply David.

My name is David and middle name is Michael. The best thing my parents did for me was to give me this name, because I feel so loved by God and humanity. Guys love to call me "Dave," which I think really sounds cool. Women love to call me "David," which makes me melt. I am now married to the best woman, but many women told me they loved my name before I met my wife. It is not trendy, and it will last and endure for all time. David does not have a stereotype attached to it I have found. I can be who I want to be. By the way, I am a very fun, outgoing, loyal, and every-day nicest guy you will ever meet, lol! I love people, and I think it is because my name has helped me to be so loved.

This name is absolutely beautiful. I first think of King David and then a few Davids I know. I prefer David to Dave but I guess Dave sounds less formal to some people and a lot of Davids prefer Dave. The name is far too popular! But then, that's for a reason. It's timeless. Davy is cute.

― Anonymous User 10/13/2015

David Humphrey (born June 7, 1973) is an American voice actor. He is best known for having voiced Shadow in the 'Sonic the Hedgehog' video games from 2001 to 2004.

David D'Or is an Israeli singer, composer, and songwriter. A countertenor with a vocal range of more than four octaves, he is a three-time winner of the Israeli "Singer of the Year" and "Best Vocal Performer" awards.

David Marcus, astrophysicist and son of James Tiberius Kirk and Carol Marcus. He appears in 'Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan' (1982) and 'Star Trek III: The Search for Spock' (1984) played by American actor Merritt Butrick.

David McCoy, father of Leonard H. "Bones" McCoy. He appears in 'Star Trek V: The Final Frontier' (1989) played by American actor Bill Quinn.

I was very close to someone named David. He was a father figure to me until his passing. I currently have a very close friend named David. My cousin is also named David. I really like the name David because of the people I know who have it. They are awesome people and I love them, so it's kind of hard for me not to like the name too. It means "beloved" and I feel like it really fits the people I've met.

David de Gea Quintana is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for English club Manchester United and the Spain national team. He has been hailed as one of the best goalkeepers in the world.

David Ospina is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for English club Arsenal.

Ospina began his career at Atlético Nacional, making his debut with the club in 2005. After achieving two domestic titles with Los Verdolagas, Ospina joined French side Nice. In 2014, he joined Arsenal on a four-year deal.

In my experience, the best guys are named David. They're attractive, talented, kind, loving, and overall great people. I love the name because of the people I've known who have it. I think the meaning is very nice too, and fits many of the Davids I've met and known. :)

― Anonymous User 1/23/2017

David Silva is a Spanish professional footballer from the Canary Islands. He plays for English club Manchester City and the Spain national team. Silva plays mainly as an attacking midfielder but can also play as a winger or second striker. He is predominantly a left-footed player.

I believe it's the #2 or #3 most popular name in Armenia and it's not even mentioned. Here every guy is named "David" or "Hayk" or "Armen" (also David and Hayk are my favourite names ). Please mention Armenia too because it's really a very used (even overused) name here.

David Geffen is an American business magnate, producer, film studio executive, and philanthropist. Geffen created or co-created Asylum Records in 1970, Geffen Records in 1980, DGC Records in 1990, and DreamWorks SKG in 1994. His donations to the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and other educational and research donations have widened his fame beyond the entertainment industry. He is gay. In May 2007, Out magazine ranked Geffen first in its list of the fifty "Most Powerful Gay Men and Women in America".

David Ellefson (born in 1964) is the bassist of the thrash metal band Megadeth.

― Anonymous User 2/26/2017

David Segui is an American former Major League Baseball first baseman. Segui was born in Kansas City, Kansas, the son of former Major League Baseball pitcher Diego Seguí. He played collegiate baseball for Louisiana Tech University and Kansas City Kansas Community College. During a 15-year baseball career, he played with the Baltimore Orioles, New York Mets, Montreal Expos, Seattle Mariners, Toronto Blue Jays, Texas Rangers and Cleveland Indians.

David Américo Ortiz Arias, nicknamed "Big Papi", is a Dominican American retired professional baseball designated hitter and occasional first baseman who played 20 Major League Baseball seasons, primarily with the Boston Red Sox. During his 14 seasons with the Red Sox, he was a ten-time All-Star, a three-time World Series champion, and seven-time Silver Slugger winner. Ortiz also holds the Red Sox single-season record for home runs with 54, which he set during the 2006 season.

David Johnson is an American football running back for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Cardinals in the third round of the 2015 NFL Draft. He played college football at Northern Iowa.

David Michael Hasselhoff, nicknamed "The Hoff", is an American actor, singer, producer, and businessman, who set a Guinness World Record as the most watched man on TV. He first gained recognition on The Young and The Restless, playing Dr. Snapper Foster. His career continued with his leading role as Michael Knight on Knight Rider and as L.A. County Lifeguard Mitch Buchannon in the series Baywatch. Hasselhoff produced Baywatch from the 1990s until 2001 when the series ended with Baywatch Hawaii. On screen, he appeared in films including Click, Dodgeball, The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, and Hop.

David Allen Johnson is an American former professional baseball player and manager. He played for the Baltimore Orioles, Atlanta Braves, Yomiuri Giants, Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago Cubs. He has managed the New York Mets, Cincinnati Reds, Orioles, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Washington Nationals.

David Howell Evans, better known by his stage name The Edge, is an English-born Irish musician and songwriter best known as the lead guitarist, keyboardist and backing vocalist of the rock band U2. A member of the group since its inception, he has recorded 13 studio albums with the band as well as one solo record. As a guitarist, the Edge has crafted a minimalistic and textural style of playing. His use of a rhythmic delay effect yields a distinctive ambient, chiming sound that has become a signature of U2's music.

David Franck Charvet is a French singer, actor, model, and television personality. Charvet was born in Lyon, France, the son of Christiane Charvet Haddad and businessman Paul Guez, founder of the Sasson brand of jeans in the 1980s. He was raised in a Jewish household; his father is from a Tunisian Jewish family.

This name is older than the bible. I like this name, it's ageless. It was a top ten name from 1936 to 1992 and in 2016, it was 19 out of the top 1000 boy's names. So I disagree that it's too common since it's not as common as it used to be.